Authorjulieclark - Authentic, Awkward Author. No Apologies.

Aquamarine on Feldspar with Muscovite | #Geology #GeologyPage #Mineral

Locality: Shigar Valley, Skardu District, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Size: 14.2 x 9.5 x 7

Photo Copyright © Saphira Minerals

Geology Page www.geologypage.com https://www.instagram.com/p/BoljBdVlSgu/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=zssudxyeg2at

🙌🙌🙌 Preach! 🙌🙌🙌

“Me Too”

It’s important to remember that when an Autistic person gives a “me too” response or story it’s not to steal your thunder or make light of your situation, but instead to show solidarity with you, and show that we understand what you are going through. So when you tell us what you are going through, and we respond with our own story of when it happened to us, please keep that in mind.

Exactly how I felt yesterday. *sigh*

The Stranger and the "A" Word

Recently, someone introduced herself to me and then immediately asked what I do. When I mentioned living life immersed in the Autism Spectrum (Asperger's), this stranger gave me quite the blank stare. She left me wondering if she thought Asperger's was a myth. Or that she felt living life as a Neurotypical is "better than". And that my career as a writer and advocate was "less than". But she didn't utter anything other than a few barely audible words. Somehow mentioning the "A" word left her speechless. I wanted to tell her she'll catch flies with a mouth open wide like that. But, I didn't. I was in church. And so was she. And I'm striving to be better than that. Maybe she merely didn't know how to respond? Still, there are far too many who will never "get it" and that...gets me.

Yes, I see in color. Several years back I learned not everyone can, and there are those who don’t really see any images in their minds. We all think and recall things differently. I think that’s pretty cool.

Some attach other senses to memory, such as associating words with flavor. In other words, if you are a fellow synesthete your senses are wired differently.

Synesthesia. I like to think of it as a super power.

Opal Var. “Boulder Opal” in Ironstone | #Geology #GeologyPage #Opal #Mineral

Locality: Quilpie, Queensland, Australia, Oceania

Dimensions: 9.4 × 8.8 × 3.6 cm

Photo Copyright © Crystal Classics

Geology Page www.geologypage.com https://www.instagram.com/p/BoSHKmGF7Sy/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=zczh80esgia6

it takes me 3-7 business days to process my feelings

Cassini Mission: What’s Next?

It’s Friday, Sept. 15 and our Cassini mission has officially come to a spectacular end. The final signal from the spacecraft was received here on Earth at 7:55 a.m. EDT after a fateful plunge into Saturn’s atmosphere.

After losing contact with Earth, the spacecraft burned up like a meteor, becoming part of the planet itself.

Although bittersweet, Cassini’s triumphant end is the culmination of a nearly 20-year mission that overflowed with discoveries.

But, what happens now?

Mission Team and Data

Now that the spacecraft is gone, most of the team’s engineers are migrating to other planetary missions, where they will continue to contribute to the work we’re doing to explore our solar system and beyond.

Mission scientists will keep working for the coming years to ensure that we fully understand all of the data acquired during the mission’s Grand Finale. They will carefully calibrate and study all of this data so that it can be entered into the Planetary Data System. From there, it will be accessible to future scientists for years to come.

Even beyond that, the science data will continue to be worked on for decades, possibly more, depending on the research grants that are acquired.

Other team members, some who have spent most of their career working on the Cassini mission, will use this as an opportunity to retire.

Future Missions

In revealing that Enceladus has essentially all the ingredients needed for life, the mission energized a pivot to the exploration of “ocean worlds” that has been sweeping planetary science over the past couple of decades.

Jupiter’s moon Europa has been a prime target for future exploration, and many lessons during Cassini’s mission are being applied in planning our Europa Clipper mission, planned for launch in the 2020s.

The mission will orbit the giant planet, Jupiter, using gravitational assists from large moons to maneuver the spacecraft into repeated close encounters, much as Cassini has used the gravity of Titan to continually shape the spacecraft’s course.

In addition, many engineers and scientists from Cassini are serving on the new Europa Clipper mission and helping to shape its science investigations. For example, several members of the Cassini Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer team are developing an extremely sensitive, next-generation version of their instrument for flight on Europa Clipper. What Cassini has learned about flying through the plume of material spraying from Enceladus will be invaluable to Europa Clipper, should plume activity be confirmed on Europa.

In the decades following Cassini, scientists hope to return to the Saturn system to follow up on the mission’s many discoveries. Mission concepts under consideration include robotic explorers to drift on the methane seas of Titan and fly through the Enceladus plume to collect and analyze samples for signs of biology.

Atmospheric probes to all four of the outer planets have long been a priority for the science community, and the most recent recommendations from a group of planetary scientists shows interest in sending such a mission to Saturn. By directly sampling Saturn’s upper atmosphere during its last orbits and final plunge, Cassini is laying the groundwork for an potential Saturn atmospheric probe.

A variety of potential mission concepts are discussed in a recently completed study — including orbiters, flybys and probes that would dive into Uranus’ atmosphere to study its composition. Future missions to the ice giants might explore those worlds using an approach similar to Cassini’s mission.

Learn more about the Cassini mission and its Grand Finale HERE.

Follow the mission on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.